Change Is in the Works for the Emmys Next Year

A change is in store for the Emmy Awards in 2014. According to The Hollywood Reporter the ceremony, which usually airs in September, will shift to August next year to avoid a conflict with NBC’s "Sunday Night Football."

The TV Academy has decided on Aug. 24 as the date, but a representative for the group declined to comment, the story notes.

"The move is not a surprise," the piece reports. "Each of the big four broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC — get to air the Emmys once every four years. Next year is NBC’s turn, and the network has scheduled the show in August each of the last two times it hosted. (NBC aired the Emmys on Aug. 27, 2006 and Aug. 29, 2010; every other Emmys ceremony since 2002 has aired in Sept.)."

NBC acquired the rights to "Sunday Night Football" in 2006, and doesn’t want to have to choose between the two big draws, the report notes. Football season starts in early September.

The article adds: "The move would put the 2014 Emmys out of the fall TV season but in the past the shift has been welcomed by publicists and talent who say they prefer completing their promotional duties by the end of the summer, as opposed to having them bleed into the fall, when film festivals and production commitments often make for chaotic schedules."